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The Art World’s New Manhattan Clubhouse

The folks at Hauser & Wirth want you to experience the art collecting lifestyle in a down-to-earth, casual setting, complete with a very mindful seasonal locavore menu. Can a simple concept of art gallery-as-restaurant bring new collectors into the fold?

iwan wirth manuela wirth
In short, Manuela lets the art creep up on you and hit you when you least expect it, which is the kind of experience that you can’t get anywhere else—not at a gallery or a museum—unless you happen to own art yourself. Photo: Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Hauser & Wirth
Marion Maneker
January 5, 2025

After a day spent trudging from gallery to gallery, and with a couple of hours to kill before dinner, Mrs. Wallpower and I stopped in SoHo a couple weeks ago for a holiday drink at Manuela, the Hauser & Wirth restaurant that opened at Prince and Wooster in late October. Our companion, a glamorous young art advisor, had spent the day packing for a multi-leg holiday jaunt to Paris and England to meet her vaguely aristocratic (and newish) boyfriend and his family. Together, the three of us were the exact target clientele for Manuela, where the vibe is meant to be “art-world hangout,” and where industry players (the glamorous art advisor) rub shoulders with the curious (me and my wife) and the aspirational (most of the folks at the bar).